GOLD PRICES rallied $10 per ounce from yesterday's fresh 5-month lows against the Dollar in Asian trade Wednesday, only to lose half that bounce in London as traders looked to today's key US monetary policy decision from the Federal Reserve.
With US inflation data due later on Wednesday, just before the US Fed's widely-expected quarter-point hike to interest rates, new data this morning put Germany's consumer-price index 1.8% higher in November Wednesday, December 13, 2017

I’ve predicted that a long period of deflation in the Western world would end with a Fed taper, rate hikes and quantitative tightening.
That’s clearly in play now, and the deregulation of America’s thousands of small banks is perhaps the most exciting event taking place on this new “inflationary frontier”. Because of these powerful monetary trends, I’ve predicted big problems ahead for Wall Street and somewhat better times for Main Street.
Having said, that, I think investors would be making aWednesday, December 13, 2017

We live in inflationary times. Some people might consider this statement controversial. This is because these days inflation is widely understood as a rise in the consumer price index (CPI) of more than 2 percent per year. However, there are convincing reasons to question this viewpoint. On the one hand, the CPI does not include “assets” such as, for instance, stocks, housing, real estate, etc. As a result, the price developments of these goods are not accounted for by the changes in the CPI.OnWednesday, December 13, 2017

Many people have now heard of bitcoin and cryptocurrency. And many have heard the term “blockchain” thrown around. But what is this new technology, and why is it such a big deal? How does it work? What other uses for blockchain exist outside of facilitating financial transactions? How does it make traditional banking obsolete?
Blockchain defined
A blockchain is a distributed ledger of transactions that use cryptography to keep exchanges secure. A distributed network of computers verifies orWednesday, December 13, 2017

CHARACTERISTICS OF BUBBLE CRAZINESS:
S. stocks, according to many measures, are the most over-valued in history. We live in a Bubble Zone! Read Mystery Markets, Bubbles, and Less Risky Gold.
Bitcoin and other cryptos are definitely in a bubble, but they could rise even higher.
Bonds yield little, and in many European countries, less than zero. Central banks have created this distortion to the detriment of savers, insurance companies and pension funds.
Real estate: Some locations, such as New ZeWednesday, December 13, 2017

SPOT GOLD prices failed to hold a 0.4% overnight rally from new 5-month lows in London on Tuesday, slipping back as world stock markets rose again ahead of tomorrow's key US Fed decision on Dollar interest rates amid worsening tensions in the Middle East.
Edging back towards $1241 per ounce today, the price of gold bullion for immediate delivery has now halved the 16% gains for 2017 reached at early September's 12-month peak.
Tuesday, December 12, 2017

The value of soaring crypto-currencies is creating a bubble financial analysts continue to warn about, but it’s also making it overly appealing to cyber thieves. North Korean hackers are now attempting to steal bitcoin, as experts warn of an impending financial dilemma.
Ashley Shen, an independent security researcher, said: “We assume one of the reasons why Bitcoin is being attacked is because the price keeps increasing and we think it’s reasonable for hackers (to target). Digital currency mighTuesday, December 12, 2017

And so, as they say in the horror movies, it begins…! The unwinding of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet. Such an esoteric concept! Is there one in ten thousand of the millions of people who sit at desks all day long from sea to shining sea who have a clue how this works? Or what its relationship is to the real world?
I confess, my understanding of it is incomplete and schematic at best — in the way that my understanding of a Las Vegas magic act might be. All the flash and dazzle conceals theTuesday, December 12, 2017

It was two years ago this week that I proclaimed that we were witnessing the final lows in the 2011–2015 bear market in the precious metals as gold traded down to $1,045 amidst total capitulation by the Large Specs and after massive short-covering by the Commercial traders. The weekly COT for that week showed an aggregate short position of a miniscule 2,911 contracts down from the earlier highs of over 300,000 contracts. About six weeks later, despite the earlier bottom in gold, the HUI (NYSE ArTuesday, December 12, 2017

In her testimony to the Congress Economic Committee on November 29, 2017, the Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the neutral rate appears to be quite low by historical standards. From this, she concluded that the federal funds rate would not have to increase much to reach a neutral stance.The neutral rate currently appears to be quite low by historical standards, implying that the federal funds rate would not have to rise much further to get to a neutral policy stance. If the neutral level rises sTuesday, December 12, 2017

In the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis, Central Banks began cornering the sovereign bond market via Zero or even Negative interest rates and Quantitative Easing (QE) programs.
The goal here was to reflate the financial system by pushing the “risk free rate” to extraordinary lows. By doing this, Central Bankers were hoping to:
1) Backstop the financial system (sovereign bonds are the bedrock for all risk).
2) Induce capital to flee cash (ZIRP and NIRP punish those sitting on cash) andMonday, December 11, 2017

SILVER PRICES failed to follow a small bounce in gold bullion Monday morning in London, holding unchanged versus the US Dollar from New Year 2017 as gold held $100 per ounce higher from January 1st ahead of this week's long-anticipated US Federal Reserve decision on interest rates.
With
silver prices slipping towards last week's new 5-month lows beneath $15.70 per ounce, world stock markets rose with commodities and major governmentMonday, December 11, 2017

A meme we have seen in the bitcoin community seems to be gaining traction. Bitcoin is deflationary. That is prices of things, measured in bitcoin, are falling. For example, in spring 2011, gasoline was Ƀ1.00. This week, that same gallon had fallen to Ƀ0.0001875. Gas has gone down by 99.98 percent!
We don’t think that even the diehard bitcoin bugs really believe this.
But it leads to an interesting point. In the past, we have used the analogy of measuring a steel meter stick with stretchy rubber Monday, December 11, 2017

1) Stockman on fire
Former Reagan budget director and current proprietor of the eponymous “David Stockman’s Contra Corner” was on fire in the Bloomberg interview linked below. Within the space of 8 minutes he manages to explain:
a) Why the tax reform package being negotiated in the US will add upwards of $1.5 trillion to the US federal debt over the next several years without prompting a significant increase in domestic investment or providing any other real help to the US economy.
b) That formeMonday, December 11, 2017

US large cap stocks are the most overvalued in history. Let's investigate six ways.Crescat Capital claims US large cap stocks are the most overvalued in history, higher than prior speculative mania market peaks in 1929 and 2000.
Their 25-page presentation makes a compelling case, with numerous charts. It's worth your time to download and investigate the report.
Six Ways Socks Most Overvalued in History
Price to Sales
Price to Book
Enterprise Value to Sales
Enterprise Value to EBITDA
Price to EMonday, December 11, 2017

The Federal Reserve’s tools for achieving its dual mandate
of low inflation and full employment manipulate interest rates and therefore
markets. This manipulation of rates reverberates
globally. Their manipulation historically had been more light handed and
invisible to most of the public. However, over the last decade, their impact on
interest rates and yield levels have been the most dramatic in the history of
the Federal Reserve.
Whenever you have policies that are extreme, it is best to
Monday, December 11, 2017

* * *
Bitcoin Flirts with $16,000, Alarm Bells Ring Louder
By Jemima Kelly and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
Reuters
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Bitcoin rocketed to a lifetime high just shy of $16,000 today after climbing some 60 percent over one week, intensifying the debate about whether the cryptocurrency is in a bubble about to burst.
The largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange struggled to keep up with record traffic as the price surged, with an upcoming launch of the first bitcoin futures contract Sunday, December 10, 2017

Dictatorship (noun): Definition #3: absolute power or authority (Websters); Def. #2: absolute, imperious or overbearing power or control (Random House);Def. #3: Absolute or despotic control or power (American Heritage);Def. #3: Absolute or supreme power or authority (Collins English Dictionary);Def. #1: A type of government where absolute sovereignty is allotted to an individual or small clique (Wikipedia).“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battleSunday, December 10, 2017

The bitcoin price has rocketed roughly 1,500% higher in 2017 to around $19,000, before correcting to the current price at $15,000. The #2 cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum, is up more than 5,000% year to date and many of the altcoins that we track have enjoyed similar gains. Cryptocurrencies have been one of the best-performing asset classes of all time.
So, why have so many astute investors and otherwise intelligent people been completely wrong about bitcoin? Why do they profess to know itSunday, December 10, 2017

(This item originally appeared at Forbes.com on December 7, 2017.)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanlewis/2017/12/07/what-is-the-fundamental-value-of-bitcoin/#6effe03f545a
What is the fundamental value of bitcoin? It seems that even the Bitcoin enthusiasts themselves have trouble answering this question. Bitcoin does not have any assets, cashflow, cost of production or final consumptive demand, the traditional basis of most asset valuation techniques.
The market price of anything is determineSaturday, December 9, 2017